What Is Your Professional Education Worth? The ROI of Investing in Yourself

I regularly hear from owners about the cost of professional education. The message usually boils down to: “This stuff is expensive — I can’t afford to spend so much.” I want to challenge that thinking head-on, because how you answer the question of professional education largely determines how big your school and your income will ever get.

The Math Most Owners Refuse to Do

An owner once told me he was doing 10 enrollments a month, grossing a solid figure, and wanted to reach 20 a month. He said I was the best in the industry at marketing and asked me what he needed. When I told him — even my least expensive recommendation — his answer was simply, “That’s too much.”

Two Strategies for Investing in Yourself

Here’s what he missed. Doubling his enrollments from 10 to 20 a month wouldn’t just add a little revenue — it would add hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and because most of that flows straight past his fixed overhead, it could multiply his net profit several times over. He was stepping over hundreds of thousands of dollars to save a few hundred. I’m happy to report I can only help the owners who actually want the help.

First, be willing to invest one dollar whenever it returns two or more. I rail on this constantly, because I believe Benjamin Franklin had it exactly right: “Empty your purse into your mind, and your mind will fill your purse.” Education that produces a return isn’t an expense; it’s the highest-return investment you’ll ever make.

Second, always have a continuous study project. Don’t learn at random — pick a subject and go deep. My own course of study over the years has included educational psychology, the psychology of motivational teaching, direct-response marketing, effective personal selling, rapport building, leadership, and employee management.

The Three Core Skills — In Order

I’ll assume you’re already pursuing mastery of your martial arts. That means your business skills probably need the most attention. There are three primary skills you must develop to succeed:

• Teaching
• Selling
• Marketing

Once you begin mastering those three, move on to staffing — recruiting, hiring, training, supervision, and motivation.

Where to Start

Begin with the industry-specific material you already have access to — review and re-read your Martial Arts Wealth monthly training packages and coaching materials, which are full of marketing and selling information. Once you’ve exhausted the industry sources, move to the great generic teachers:

• Selling: Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar, Robert Cialdini, and Dan Kennedy.
• Marketing: Dan Kennedy, Joe Sugarman, John Caples, and Claude Hopkins.
• Teaching: read what your local elementary and middle-school teachers are required to study for certification. Years ago, an education PhD walked me through those teacher resources, and it was enormously valuable.

When I joined top marketing coaching programs, the first thing I did was print everything available — thousands of pages — organize it into notebooks, and read it all, taking notes. Your head may hurt; great knowledge doesn’t come easy. Take it one step at a time.

The Mastermind Multiplier

Finally, don’t underestimate the mastermind effect. The single fastest way to accelerate your learning curve is to surround yourself with people playing a bigger game — which is exactly what a great coaching and mastermind community provides. My own years inside top coaching programs have paid back many times over.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is professional education really worth the cost for a school owner?

Almost always, yes. If a program helps you add even a handful of enrollments a month, the added revenue and net profit dwarf the investment. Education that produces a return is the highest-leverage money you can spend.

What should a martial arts school owner study first?

Business skills — specifically teaching, selling, and marketing, then staffing and management. Start with industry-specific material, then study the great generic experts in each discipline.

How do I get the most from what I study?

Pick a continuous study project and go deep rather than wide, take notes, and join a mastermind or coaching community to accelerate your learning curve. Then apply what you learn immediately.

Ready to Add 100 Students to Your School?

Invest in the highest-return education there is: get your free copy of Six Simple Steps to Add 100 New Students to Your School at SimpleSteps.com.

And to master the first of the three core skills, make Extraordinary Teaching your next study project at ExtraordinaryTeaching.com.

Stephen Oliver, MBA, is a 10th Degree Black Belt, the founder of Mile High Karate and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, and is known industry-wide as “The Millionaire Maker.”